We adopted a scared mutt name Jitterbug over ten years ago. Although we weren’t sure how old she was at the time (we guessed around a year old) or even exactly what breed she was (although we thought maybe a cross between a Papillion and a dachshund) we knew one thing was sure – this dog had been abused. She would cower at the slightest motion in her direction (any kind of motion). Our hearts were saddened by the thought that someone would hurt any dog, but especially this one.
The name Jitterbug didn’t fit this small, shy dog, so we renamed her Ali. She became the best dog I’ve ever known, and not just because she was our dog. She was tough, but sweet; protective, but kind. She was also loving and precious.
About four years ago, after being out for a while, we came home and noticed that Ali wasn’t acting right. She acted like she was sick, but also very scared (she was shaking a lot). It was very late at night, so we decided we’d wait till the morning to see how she was doing to decide if we needed to take her to the vet. When we woke up that morning, Ali couldn’t move her back legs (she had been able to the night before). The vet diagnosed her with intervertebral disk disease. She had emergency surgery in hopes of restoring activity to her legs, but she remained paralyzed from her mid-back down the rest of her life. Despite her paralysis, Ali was able to get around quite well. She earned the nickname “Scooter” and was very fast scooting around. Her paralysis definitely presented many challenges, but Ali was worth handling those challenges.
Sadly, we had to put Ali down a little less than two weeks ago. I was sad, very sad, but her health was deteriorating quickly, and we didn’t want to see her suffer anymore. I’m so thankful for having Ali in our lives.
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